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The Biggest Challenges You'll Face As A New Business Owner

Starting a business in the first place is extremely challenging, but maintaining one is even harder. No matter what kind of business you’re running, or how healthy your financial projections are looking, there are a range of challenges you’re going to be up against. In this post, we’ll look at some of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a new business owner, and the best ways to approach them. Client Dependence It can be extremely hard to get clients or customers in the first place when you’re just getting a business off the ground, and having the whole operation dependent on a small number of clients can put you in a very difficult position. If there’s a single client account that makes up the bulk of your revenue, then you’re closer to an independent contractor than a CEO. Diversification of your client base is extremely important to any growing business, but obviously this can be hard, especially when your existing clients pay reliably. However, it’s important to avoid your clients rubbing out their risk of diverting payroll to an area where the work could disappear at any time, by shifting all of it to you. The more dependent you are on small numbers of clients, the more damaging it will be to your business when one of them decides they don’t need your product or service anymore. Managing Finances Obviously, having enough money to cover expenses is important for any business. While financial flexibility has become easier to assure these days through cheaper marketing and more accessible business loans for women with bad credit, you’re still going to be hard pressed to maintain a firm handle on the money coming in and going out of your business. In order to head off the various problems you could run into, you need to make sure either that your business is heavily capitalized, or that you have extra sources of income you can lean on when times are tough. This is why many small business owners start off working with the founders, holding down a job while building the company. When money’s flowing both into the business and to your personal account, financial management becomes even more important. Handling accounts and taxes may be well within your capabilities, but to make 110% sure you’re getting the most from your money, hiring some in-house help can be a good idea. Fatigue It may sound too simple to be a major issue, but the constant work and pressure needed to run a business will strain even the most passionate and robust of entrepreneurs. The majority of business owners find themselves working much longer hours than their employees, and, through fear of the business stalling when they’re away, will avoid taking any long periods of time off to recharge their batteries. When fatigue really gets to you, it can result in rash decisions regarding the business, and has even led some people to decide to sell their business on a snap decision! Make sure you’re aware of burnout, and taking steps to overcome it.